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Literary criticism in the 21st century : theory renaissance / Vincent B. Leitch.

By: Leitch, Vincent B, 1944- [author.].
Material type: materialTypeLabelBookPublisher: London : Bloomsbury Academic, 2014Description: xi, 174 pages ; 22 cm.Content type: text Media type: unmediated Carrier type: volumeISBN: 9781472527707 (paperback).Subject(s): Criticism -- 21st centuryDDC classification: 801.9509045
Contents:
What I believe and why -- Antitheory -- The tasks of critical reading -- Theory today and tomorrow -- Theory crossroads -- French theory's second life -- Second lives of Jacques Derrida -- Postmodernism revisited -- Twenty-first-century theory favorites -- Theory futures.
Summary: "For more than a decade literary criticism has been thought to be in a post-theory age. Despite this, the work of thinkers such as Derrida, Deleuze and Foucault and new writers such as Agamben and Ranciere continue to be central to literary studies. Literary Criticism in the 21st Century explores the explosion of new theoretical approaches that has seen a renaissance in theory and its importance in the institutional settings of the humanities today.Literary Criticism in the 21st Century covers such issues as: The institutional history of theory in the academy; the case against theory, from the 1970s to today; critical reading, theory and the wider world; keystone works in contemporary theory; and new directions and theory's many futures" -- publisher's description.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
General Lending MTU Crawford College of Art and Design Library Lending 801.9509045 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 00229747
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

For more than a decade literary criticism has been thought to be in a post-theory age. Despite this, the work of thinkers such as Derrida, Deleuze and Foucault and new writers such as Agamben and Ranciere continue to be central to literary studies. Literary Criticism in the 21st Century explores the explosion of new theoretical approaches that has seen a renaissance in theory and its importance in the institutional settings of the humanities today. Literary Criticism in the 21st Century covers such issues as: The institutional history of theory in the academy The case against theory, from the 1970s to today Critical reading, theory and the wider world Keystone works in contemporary theory New directions and theory's many futuresWritten with an engagingly personal and accessible approach that brings theory vividly to life, this is a passionate defence of theory and its continuing relevance in the 21st century.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 159-168) and index.

What I believe and why -- Antitheory -- The tasks of critical reading -- Theory today and tomorrow -- Theory crossroads -- French theory's second life -- Second lives of Jacques Derrida -- Postmodernism revisited -- Twenty-first-century theory favorites -- Theory futures.

"For more than a decade literary criticism has been thought to be in a post-theory age. Despite this, the work of thinkers such as Derrida, Deleuze and Foucault and new writers such as Agamben and Ranciere continue to be central to literary studies. Literary Criticism in the 21st Century explores the explosion of new theoretical approaches that has seen a renaissance in theory and its importance in the institutional settings of the humanities today.Literary Criticism in the 21st Century covers such issues as: The institutional history of theory in the academy; the case against theory, from the 1970s to today; critical reading, theory and the wider world; keystone works in contemporary theory; and new directions and theory's many futures" -- publisher's description.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • Map: Twenty-first Century Literary and Cultural Theory
  • Preface
  • 1 What I Believe and Why
  • 2 Anti-Theory
  • 3 The Tasks of Critical Reading
  • 4 Theory Today and Tomorrow
  • 5 Theory Crossroads
  • 6 French Theory's Second Life
  • 7 Second Lives of Jacques Derrida
  • 8 Postmodernism Revisited
  • 9 Twentry-First Century Theory: Key Names
  • 10 Theory Futures
  • Notes
  • References
  • Index

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

University of Oklahoma English professor Leitch ( American Literary Criticism Since the 1930s , 2nd edition) offers a spirited defense of literary theory. Defying those who feel criticism is in a post-theory age, following the intense, contentious theory and culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s, Leitch claims that theory is a way to engage the postmodern globalized world. The disparate chapters--two, for example, are extended interview/talks with Leitch himself--present a comprehensive picture of the state of criticism in the new century. In addition to the interviews, chapters cover the continuing fascination with the French schools of theory (especially the work of Jacques Derrida) and game-changing new scholarship. Leitch takes on the anti-theory critics, addressing their arguments and learning from them, even expressing some of his own reservations about contemporary criticism. A section in which he gives advice to graduate students seeking to specialize in theory does not pull any punches; he takes a pointed, forthright view of the corporate university. While candidly assessing academia today, he maintains that theory has a bright future. While is was written primarily for specialists, it is nevertheless a skillful account of theory's influence, history, and continued relevance. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

CHOICE Review

General editor of The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism (CH, Jan'02, 39-2624), Leitch (English, Univ. of Oklahoma) here presents a lucid overview of the history of theory and its sustainability in the humanities. His argument arrives at a time when the humanities are perceived to be in a crisis and theory has been declared over. While neoliberalism has produced the corporate university, theory has become disaggregated into a variety of investigative fields such as biopolitics, identity theory, popular culture, media studies, ecocriticism, affect studies, and literary comparativism (e.g., transatlantic and transpacific studies), to name a few of the emerging fields across the humanities. The forms of Leitch's presentation vary: included are personal essays, interviews, summaries of French poststructuralism (especially Derrida), and, in closing, reflections on post-postmodernism leading to arrival at the future of theories in the 21st century. Leitch anchors his arguments in opposition to "antitheory," discussed in chapter 2, which emerged in the so-called "culture wars" of the 1980s and lingers today as a relic of theory. For Leitch, theory is more than a footnote to the close of the 20th century: a necessary engagement of critique against the forces of neoliberal globalization, theory makes the humanities more relevant in the 21st century. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty. --Randy T. Prus, Southeastern Oklahoma State University

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Vincent Leitch is George Lynn Cross Research Professor and Paul and Carol Daube Sutton Chair in English at the University of Oklahoma, USA. He is the author of American Literary Criticism Since the 1930s (2nd edition, 2010) and co-editor of The Norton Anthology of Literary Criticism and Theory (2nd edition, 2010).

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